Waukegan OKs grand plan

Downtown, lakefront to get rehab

August 26, 2003|By Ginny Skweres, Special to the Tribune. Tribune staff reporter Courtney Flynn contributed to this report.

After months discussing how to remake Waukegan's Rust Belt image, city officials unanimously approved an ambitious plan Monday night calling for hundreds of new lakefront homes, a bridge linking the downtown with Lake Michigan and a minor-league baseball team.

The City Council's vote received a standing ovation from most of the audience. Officials hope to begin work on some of the plan by spring.

"This is everybody's vision--it's all of Waukegan's vision," Mayor Richard Hyde said before the meeting. "We want to get people believing in Waukegan."

Although redevelopment plans have surfaced in the last three or four decades, Hyde said none has been as solid or received as much study by city officials and the community.

Before the vote, supporters praised and critics picked apart the redevelopment proposal, which is expected to take several years to complete and cost millions of dollars.

"This [plan] is a challenge but also a leap of faith," Ald. Edith Newsome said. "As long as everyone keeps the same vision, we can accomplish this."

Resident Mike Foster, a member of a coalition of business and property owners on Waukegan's North Harbor, said port businesses are worried about being displaced by new development.

Another resident, Bob Gordan, thought the plan was not ambitious enough.

"To draw the people from miles, a touch of everything from around the lake needs to included for family and children," he said. "Take a touch of Mackinac Island, with its carriage rides, stagecoaches, and put it in the park. Bring the culture and excitement of Waukegan heritage."

Ald. Lawrence TenPas had a simple answer for critics: "Vote the concept--the plan can be adjusted."

City planner Steve Sabourin said a main goal of the redevelopment is to make it easier to get to the lakefront from downtown, which is separated from the shoreline by the Amstutz Expressway. A proposed bridge--nearly a block wide--could make the trip easier, he said.

City officials also would like to expand lakefront marinas and relocate boat storage areas. They want to bring in new shops, restaurants and other businesses while keeping the ones they have now.

Not everyone is eager to begin redevelopment. A citizens group recently asked city officials to halt the plan because of concerns about ground pollution after years of heavy industry in the area.

City officials said they have a cleanup strategy in place that would include removing such pollutants as PCBs and asbestos from sites in the area.

Although many communities along the North Shore have been developed, Waukegan's lakefront has remained mostly untapped, Sabourin said.

"I think this will unlock a lot of potential," he said. "This is definitely an untouched gem."